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A business card is something most all business people use; even in this era of smart phones. So, have you ever really stopped to think for what a business card is used? Have you ever asked yourself if your business card is highly effective at doing what you want it to do? Why would I ask such obvious questions?

Stop now and look at your business card. Feel it. Does it say what you want it to say? Does it feel good? Is it substantial? Is it easy to read and to find and use your contact information?

Let’s start with what you want your card to achieve on your behalf. Here are a few things that come to mind:

You want people to be able to contact you to build a relationship or to buy something from you

You want the quality and style of your card to build an image appropriate to your business. It could be quality, professionalism, fun, low price or anything else that conveys the message you want to state about who you and your company are

You want it to be easy to pick out your name, phone number and/or email address. Make it easy for them to check out your web page to build a stronger bond with them and to help them know who you are and what you do. As an aside, is your web address to long and difficult to enter into a browser. A good web designer can help you with that.

Here are a few things to keep in mind about the design and paper of your card that will help you achieve those goals:

Keep the information on your card to the bare essentials. Just put your phone number, email and website on the card. Maybe add a tag line or philosophical saying. Addresses are not needed anymore. Your web site can have all of that. Or your type of business does not use a physical address. And hardly anybody sends email anymore. So find out if you really need it on the card. If not, drop it.

They don’t care if you belong to the chamber of commerce or are a million dollar round table winner. That kind of detail just messes up the card.

Keep the card simple. It is only for contact information

Use a brochure or web site to provide all the information your heart desires; not your business card

The design of your card should express your message appropriately. If you are an entertainer, then whimsical fonts, graphics and colors make sense. If you are an investment advisor, then pick colors like gray and burgundy, blacks and blues; sedate, confidant colors that express safety, strength and conservatism.

Paper should be considered carefully. Paper has both a visual element and touch element to it. Most of us consider the visual part of our cards but the fell of a card can make a big impression whether they think about it or not

Old style cards used by attorneys and accountants used what they called laid and linen stock. These both had a textured, high-class feel to them. Modern printing methods do not print well on these papers, so we tend to get smooth white cards. However, more recently, paper has been invented that feel like silk, suede and others. These have a very nice texture that makes a quality statement. People that are kinesthetic will respond strongly to this kind of paper.

Go into a local printer like our The UPS Store 5183 and look at and feel some paper samples. Then find a good graphic designer and have the card printed on great card stock. Craft your card to make you stand out in a crowd. Give yourself that extra edge that will help you make a stronger impression and make more sales.

We are experiencing wonderful new changes with UPS through the UPS Store. It used to be that you paid extra for Saturday delivery. And to get things delivered on Monday, through UPS, required next day delivery service. And instead of a late-in-the-day pick-up, you had to have the pick up earlier in the day on Saturday.

To see specific details about this program, and how it is being rolled out across the country, click on this UPS link to get the details straight from UPS!

One subtle point to be aware of is that the Saturday delivery is only to residences and strategic businesses like our The UPS Store 5183 in Superior Colorado, and other retail locations across the country. The reasoning here is that many businesses are not open on Saturday and would not benefit from this new service. If your business is open on Saturday, and you would like to take advantage of Saturday delivery, check out your local The UPS Store!

Businesses can take advantage of this service on Saturday by setting up a mailbox rental at a The UPS Store like ours. We receive the packages for you on Saturday and email a delivery confirmation to you notifying your package is in. Just make arrangements to drop by before we close and you can participate in Saturday delivery.

If you don’t want to rent a mailbox, no sweat. You can set up a “Package Only” service with no monthly rental. We still email you a delivery notice. We then hold your package for you. Just bring in your ID, and pay a $5 or $10 fee for each package you pick up. If you receive 5 or more packages per month, the rental is the best option. If you get less, the Package Only option may be best; unless the packages are large and heavy.

Residences in select cities will get Saturday delivery at normal ground pricing. That is because people tend to be home on the weekends.

Another cool feature is that in select cities you can ship ground, in your own state, and it is guaranteed to be delivered to residences by end of day on Saturday instead of Monday! If UPS offers local pick up at select retail locations, like the UPS Store, on Saturdays you may still get it there on Monday by the end of day for ground pricing. Check with your The UPS Store for details.

The UPS System now offers better service and lower costs at 5,000 The UPS Stores in select cities across the US and more to come in 2018! What’s not to like. Bravo UPS and The UPS Stores!

Come see us if you live near our Superior Colorado Store. Let us help you use this new service and maybe benefit from other services you are unaware of!

Pre-inked Stamps save you time. They allow you to do repetitive messaging quickly and legibly. For example, instead of writing “Return to Sender, Address Unknown” on letters that come to you erroneously, you can simply get a red stamp and affix this same message on letters you are returning. When you get a check you can quickly stamp “Deposit Only” only with your account number on the back of the check to make it difficult to cash other than to put it into your account at the bank. When someone presents payment at your office with an invoice you can stamp “Paid” on it.

You can personalize your correspondence with a kind of stamp emoji. Custom stamp makers, like our The UPS Store 5183, can download a picture and make a stamp for you. Or we can make happy faces, sad faces, stars and any emoji image you can think of by having you send the graphics to us for download.

Use your imagination. Look for ways to save time and money for your business. Find fun ways to spice up personal and business correspondence.

Let The UPS Store 5183 make your custom per-inked stamp today! We make them in our store in about 15 minutes. Find our web site at The UPS Store 5183.

The Federal Government and most states have laws that require small businesses to protect their client’s data. Putting sensitive client data into your trash without shredding it is literally a Federal offense. It is considered serious enough to provide both penalties and jail time in some cases.

Sensitive data is name, birth date, Social Security number, account numbers, etc. It is also info on people’s health information, among other things. Thieves troll trash cans and you jeopardize your client’s wellbeing if you don’t protect their data. The thieves then use it to access client bank accounts and other web sites.

I attended a seminar on this issue put on one of the most prominent law firms in Phoenix. They have full time staff monitoring all the different laws on the books. Even with that they admitted it was a tough job to stay up with it all. So how does a small business person protect themselves?

Well ask your attorney how to protect yourself. And what I personally do is shred anything with this kind of info on it. I am not an attorney and provide no legal advice. I just want my businesses friends and clients to be aware of how serious this is and how regulated it is.

Businesses with offices keep those locked cabinets with slots in the top around the office to provide a place for their employees to dump their sensitive documents into. A service person comes by later with the key and puts the documents into their truck to be shredded on site or to be shredded back at a plant.

Some small businesses work from their home and have too much to feed into a low cost shredder two sheets at a time. That gets the job done but takes way too much time. Your time is valuable!

An alternative is to stop by a local The UPS Store to have them dispose of your bulk documents you accumulate for shredding. If you are in the Scottsdale area drop by my The UPS Store. Click here for my store info and a map to find us. We would love to see you.